145 Star Tattoos For The Perfect Twinkle

Even before NASA explained what stars were made of, there were already a lot of cultures that gave importance to stars. Even though stars are just made up of non-living compounds, this ball of light has become a significant symbol for the living. And since this symbol is versatile, it follows that there are so many ways on how you can create and design your star tattoo.

Star Tattoo Symbols

Here are five ways you can interpret a star tattoo. Maybe one fits perfectly for your next tattoo idea?

1. Dreams and Wishes

If you’ve wished upon a star as a kid, you know that stars often symbolize things that you have always wanted to get or experience. Take this simple and colorful shooting star. You can give a childish touch to your shooting star by coloring the other stars with different colors. Also, you can simply create a shooting star tattoo by adding lines that show movement, like the one seen in the photo below.

Here’s another shooting star design that adds more elements of the night sky. Instead of coloring the actual stars, you can color the background to show that it’s seen at night. Also, notice how the biggest star design. It’s as if it was just drawn by a child which gives the tattoo a lighter feel to it.

2. Guidance

Remember how the three wise men used a star to guide them towards the baby Jesus? Well, guidance and direction are one of the most common symbols associated with a star. And it’s not just the three wise men that consults stars. The North Star is also a guide used by travelers, merchants, and even sailors in their travels. Look at this plain and simple star. This can easily depict the North Star.

Or this star tattoo that was strategically placed in the middle of a ship’s steering wheel. This definitely shows you that stars are a sign of direction.

This star tattoo also looks very simple yet almost looks like the arrows of a compass.

3. Uniqueness

Each star is unique in its own way and so each person who has a star tattoo can also show how unique they are. Instead of getting a minimalist star tattoo, this person chose to color the tattoo with pride colors. On the other hand, the tattoo on the right leg is similar to gothic and rocker interests.

Another tattoo inspiration is this star design. You can do something unique by designing the outlines of the star using what represents you most. In this tattoo, the outline is similar to flames making a different impact on the usual tattoo image. Aside from the burning effect, the person added another bigger outline to the red star.

Here are some unique star tattoo designs:

4. Stardom

Not everyone is made for the limelight, but to those who are, they know that the star perfectly describes their life as celebrities and known people. Take a look at this star tattoo. The shimmer of these stars easily identifies the person as having dreams of being a star. Usually, this kind of star design is used to describe divas and well-known people.

Or what about these three stars that add a sparkle to the eye? Yes, adding a star just below eyes further emphasize the beauty of your eyes.

Or these stars that even if they weren’t drawn as if they were sparkling, the colors chosen made make them look shining and shimmering.

5. Hope

And finally, stars symbolize hope. The Dalai Lama once said, “I find hope in the darkest of days and focus in the brightest.” This quote perfectly describes what stars stand for. Even when you are feeling down, looking at the stars in the night sky becomes therapeutic. Just look at this collection of stars on the foot. Looking down suddenly becomes a reminder to look at the sky for hope.

Star Tattoo Placements

Just like the star symbolism, there are so many areas in the body where you can place your tattoo. Here are some of the common star tattoo placements you can take inspiration from.

1. Shoulder

Take a look at this star tattoo. There is a mix of big stars and small stars to balance out the design. There are also a few lines and curves that show the connection among all the stars. If your tattoo is as big as this, then your shoulder is the perfect canvas.

This tattoo, on the other hand, neatly shapes the shoulder. As you can see, the line of stars almost resembles the shape of the shoulder. A design like this can give an illusion to the shape of your shoulder. For example, if you want to look edgier, you will make the line of stars less curvy and more angular.

Here’s another star tattoo on the shoulder. As you can see, the stars are medium-sized and what’s good about having a free arrangement like this is that even if you see one star, it doesn’t look cut-off from the rest.

The front of your shoulders can also be a place for your star tattoo. This kind of tattoo looks beautiful when you choose to wear off-shoulder tops similar to the woman’s shirt in the photo.

2. Wrist

The wrist is one of the sensitive areas of the body where you can get a tattoo. So, if you have a low pain tolerance, it’s not advisable for you to put a tattoo here especially since there are a lot of nerves. If you want, you can try to put a star tattoo lower from the wrist to test out if you can handle the pain.

3. Behind the Ear

Another sensitive area to get a tattoo in is the area behind or below the ear and the neck. If you will notice, the skin around the neck is thin and that it is very close to the spine and the bones itself. Having a tattoo really close to the bone will make you feel uncomfortable at the very least. For most people, it’s going to be painful since your bones can almost feel the needle so close to it.

Here are other ear and neck star tattoo designs

4. Collarbone

The chest is a wide canvas for a star tattoo. If you plan to have a number of stars, then having them spread out over your chest like this tattoo here is a good idea. However, once a tattoo is placed very near or on top of the collarbone, expect to feel some pain because the skin is so close to the bone. If you are thin enough, you can even see the collarbone jutting out.

Here’s another collarbone tattoo that looks like a necklace. Having a star tattoo arranged like this makes for a good accessory. It’s as if you never have to remove a necklace. You can also have this semi-circle necklaces nearer to your neck (but it’s going to be more painful!) so that a lot of people can get to see your star necklace.

You can arrange your star tattoo strategically below your collarbone if you can’t stand the pain. The tattoo below shows a clump of stars that look dainty and neat just below the collarbone. It’s easy to hide a tattoo when it’s placed here too.

5. Hands

Like the collarbone, the back of your hand has bones that almost jut out of the skin. Just take a look at your own hands and you can already imagine how painful it’s going to be to have a tattoo here. But, if other people can do it, maybe you can get through the pain too?

6. Ankle and Feet

Like your hands, the feet are a sensitive body part to have a tattoo on. Take a look at this photo. The bones of the person area easily seen and even if your feet are flat on the floor, you can see the bones and veins. This means that your skin in this area is very thin.

However, your ankle has thicker skin as compared to your feet. The tattoo right here looks like an anklet because of the curves and stars.

11 Star Tattoo Design Inspirations

There are so many designs you can come up of when it comes to stars. Because it’s one of the most versatile symbols out there, you can surely customize it to make it your very own. Here are a lot of design inspirations you can choose from.

1. Achieving Balance

One of the symbolisms of a star is balance. In some cultures, a star shows the balance of good and evil, struggle and success. This tattoo perfectly depicts that kind of balance. As you can see, right at the center of the star is a yin and yang symbol. There are also the sides of the star that is colored equally black and white. Everything in this tattoo is symmetric and what better way to show balance but to show symmetry?

2. A Sky Full Of Stars

There is no doubt that a bunch of stars is one of the most common designs that you can find out there. However, even if it’s a common concept, you can still give justice to why it’s pretty popular. Take a look at this bunch of stars. There are two things that made this design beautiful. One is the diversity of the kind of stars neatly scattered along the area. And two is the dotted trail that looks as if a shooting star just passed by.

Similar to the tattoo above is this cute ankle tattoo. What makes this tattoo beautiful is not just the line of stars you see, but also how it perfectly gives sexiness to the ankle. The shape direction of the stars makes it look like the person’s ankle is thin and sexy. With this tattoo, you don’t even have to get accessories for your ankle.

Here’s another night sky that is totally different from the night sky concepts you’ve seen. Yes, there are no stars to be found, but the person made use of her moles to depict stars. Instead of having one whole star, she put a crescent moon to show that the area on her right shoulder is a sky full of stars. This is a perfect creative take on getting a star tattoo.

3. Bedtime Stories

Admit it, this tattoo design makes you feel that it’s time for bed. If anything, stars that look like they are falling gives a sense of sprinkles and glitters that are slowly falling down when it’s time for bed. Add to that the owl perched on a crescent moon. For those who loves nighttime, this tattoo is a design inspiration to definitely consider.

4. Musical Stars

Although stars are not exactly directly associated with music, this does not mean that you cannot combine it with any musical note. The stars in this tattoo obviously live in harmony with G-clef. This means that the person who got this tattoo both loves stars and music.

Here’s another version of the tattoo above. You can choose to shade the stars with red or any color you like. You can even have different colors for the star and attach different meanings to them.

5. Stars and Clouds

As mentioned a while ago, stars symbolize balance. On the other hand, clouds symbolize both intellect and emotion because clouds contain both air and water. If you put them together, this can mean that you are able to balance your intellectual and emotional states very well.

There is also another interpretation for the clouds in this tattoo. Since the clouds here have a darker shade or that the sky behind the clothes is dark, then the stars here can mean that there is light at the end of a storm or a terrible situation in one’s life.

6. The Nautical Star

When you scroll through the tattoo designs here, you’ll notice that there is one star that looks different from the other stars. Does that star look something like this?

If so, then you’ve now seen a nautical star. A nautical star is a symbolic star often associated with the United States Navy, Coast Guard, or Marine Corps. A nautical star not only means membership to the said organizations, but it also indicates status. The meaning of a nautical star also differs based on body placement.

Here’s a nautical star design where a dark color is paired with red. A nautical star with a red color is popular because red is similar to the color of the charts in the navy.

You can also have a nautical star that takes the color of your skin. Usually, a nautical star is a pairing of black and a lighter color. In this case, the lighter color is your skin.

A nautical star also symbolizes direction and guidance. This is often the meaning when the star is placed on the back of the hand or near the tips of the fingers. In this tattoo, even if the star is not placed on the back of the hand, it has a quote that serves as your guide whenever you feel lost and downcast.

7. We Come In Pairs

Stars shine brightly on their own or in a group of other stars. But stars are rarely known to go in pairs, so if you want to have a pair of stars, it’s best to place them on body parts that come in pairs as well. Say, the arms as seen in this tattoo.

You can also get a pair of stars and place them just above the breasts. Those who place stars near the area of their breasts means that they are breast cancer survivors. Although this isn’t true for everyone, it is known to a lot of people that anyone getting a tattoo near their breasts supports awareness and education of breast cancer.

Did you know that two nautical stars mean that the person has survived a terrible life experience? This tattoo, although not having nautical stars, can show that the person has gone through tough times.

8. Heartfelt Dedications

If you are into sweet and sentimental things, then a star tattoo with names is a perfect match for you. Take a look at this tattoo where the names of the person’s friends are inked on the arm. You can do the same for your closest friends too!

You can even customize the star design itself. Different colors like blue, red, yellow, and other elements can help make your tattoo more heartfelt.

To add a little twist to your heartfelt dedication, you can add more elements that make it more personal. For example, this star tattoo has the foot and handprint of the person named on the tattoo. Even adding a special date here with a beautiful font makes it even more special.

Here’s a couple star dedication for partners in love. You can put both your names or just your partner’s. Similar to the tattoo below, the right font makes all the difference.

If not the font, then the star itself.

9. Star Overload

With so many stars in the sky, it just seems fitting a lot of them spread all over your body. This bunch of stars is just beautifully placed all over the person’s chest that it adds to the sophistication.

You can even scatter them from your leg to your foot as seen in these two photos.

You don’t even have to overdo it. A few stars clumped together can still be beautiful. You can mix plain and shaded stars and change the sizes of the others.

What about a splash of paint on these stars? If you want to be unique with a bunch of stars, you can splash on something that makes them stand out. Take, for example, the bright and light colors at the background of these stars emphasize the latter even more.

Or give the stars a bright and fiery color too!

10. Simple is Sexy

Who says that stars can’t be sexy? This minimalist tattoo certainly believes in the saying that “simple is sexy”. It doesn’t matter if you have the same tattoo as with other people. What matters is the personal meaning you’ve attached to it.

Take this small star for example. It stands alone on the back of the hand, but this doesn’t lessen the impact the star gave on the area. A few shading techniques can also add depth to your tattoo.

Here’s another simple and plain star tattoo. But what makes this star stand out is the placement. If you think that your design is very plain, then you can compesnate with non-conventional placements.

Here’s a minimalist star tattoo that is a little hard to find. At first, you don’t even know where it is unless the person tells you to and this makes the tattoo more unique.

11. Curves and Swirls

You don’t even have to be too logical and strict when it comes to designing your star tattoo. This tattoo right here shows that you can be very random about it. Besides, there’s no right or wrong when it comes to the meaning of your tattoo.

Here’s another star tattoo with lots of swirls. What’s great about tattoos like this is that you can easily adjust them to fit the area you want. In this case, the area is above the ankle, so the stars were adjusted to make sure that they don’t look cramped. Imagine having to cramp a very detailed star tattoo!

So to round it all up, here are some of the star tattoo designs people of all over the world have come up with. Hopefully, that as you went through all the photos here, you can find something that resembles the design you want to have.